How to conduct a participatory assessment

Plan for the assessment. Decide what information to collect, where to collect it, who to talk to and which methods to use by analyzing existing information.

Conduct the assessment. Use participatory tools such as transect walk, interviews, mapping, ranking, calendars and focus group discussions.

Analyze the findings. Refer to analysis tools, such as tables and matrices.

The handbook discusses how to do each step.

Why are participatory assessments important?

A strong assessment is the key to good problem analysis and project design.

The assessment gathers the information required to develop the program strategy and ProFrame, including the definition of indicators.

Participatory methods are the best way to ensure that the project design is relevant to the people we serve, by giving a voice to the most marginalized and most vulnerable households and communities and helping us to understand how their needs may be different from others.